I too asked a friend who is an intellectual property lawyer and this was
his response....
"It depends on the person's job and when and where the work was
performed. First, it depends on whether the person is an employee of
the gallery or an "independent contractor." Second, it depends on
whether the work was created within the "scope" of that person's job
(i.e., that is the type of work the person performs or was specifically
hired to create). Does she normally create lesson plans for use at the
Gallery as part of her job? Did the Gallery specifically tell/ask her
to put it together? Was it done at work or at home, after work? Did
the Gallery have any input or control? These and other factors will
determine the outcome.
Creations are automatically protected under copyright law. The question
is who owns the work. By registering the work with the Copyright Office
you are then allowed to sue a potential infringer/copier."
I hope this is helpful. I too have wondered about this. Thanks for
getting this thread started.
Sheri
Sheri J. Levinsky, MAT
Director of Education and Programs
Decatur House Museum
p: (202) 842-0920 x 223
f: (202) 842-0030
www.decaturhouse.org
-----Original Message-----
From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On
Behalf Of Alexandra Carrera
Sent: Thursday, July 22, 2004 4:35 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: lesson plans intellectual property?
Thanks for the feedback. I contacted a lawyer and this was his
response--I'm including
it in case anyone else was wondering about this issue:
"As for the copyright issue, I think the question is not whether you
created it on
company time but whether you created it within the scope of your
employment (ie,
whether the company was the motivating factor in its creation). If you
created
it outside the scope of your employment, it's yours. If within such
scope, it's
the company's exclusively (unless you two have expressly agreed
otherwise). I'm
sure there's all sorts of ambiguous middle ground, but that's the
general rule."
thanks again,
Alexandra
-----Original Message-----
From: Diane Gutenkauf <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Jul 22, 2004 8:31 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: lesson plans intellectual property?
Careful, careful. The document does have a copyright (uh, please note
spelling), HOWEVER, the question here is who owns that right.
If a work is created by an employee on company time, generally the work
is
the property of the EMPLOYER. This law covers everything from computer
code
written by a programmer to artwork created by a staff graphic designer.
The issue here is the nature of the employment and compensation
agreement
between the author and the gallery.
The author may not be entitled to compensation legally. Her arrangement
with the gallery may affect this.
All of these issues are best decided by someone with professional
expertise
in copyright law. Talk to a lawyer.
Regards,
Diane Gutenkauf
Former Registrar
You know "registrar" as in
one-who-suffers-with-reproduction-rights-issues
On Thu, 22 Jul 2004 06:58:13 -0500, Doug Swain
<[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
>It is copywrited if you wrote it, more protected if you lable it with
TM.
>More protected if you put a disclaimer at the bottom that reads do not
>duplicate without written permission from the author.
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On
>Behalf Of Alexandra Carrera
>Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 2004 6:09 PM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: lesson plans intellectual property?
>
>
>I have developed a curriculum that uses art from our gallery in a
>visual arts/language arts unit. Several people have asked to buy
>my lesson plans and I'm in the process of creating a lesson
>packet we can sell. However, a teacher friend recently suggested
>I ought to protect ownership of the curriculum and make sure
>I am compensated from my "intellectual property" (she suggested I
should
>get a large lump sum from the gallery and then lesson plan proceeds can
>all go to the gallery)
>I find it all rather confusing and welcome any advice anyone out there
>can give me.
>Thanks in advance,
>Alexandra
>
>Alexandra Carrera
>Education Coordinator
>323-466-2157 ext 21
>
<snip>
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